Poker is a favorite card game which is played by many people. Typically, the game is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The objective of most games of poker is to form a five card poker hand better than the five-card poker hand of one or more opponents, or to bet in such a way as to make the opponents believe their hand is inferior. The individual cards are ranked in the following order from highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The suits are clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades.
The hands are ranked in the following order from highest to lowest:
(1) Five of a Kind—Five cards of equal rank.
(2) Royal Flush—Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10—all of the same suit.
(3) Straight Flush—Five cards, all of the same suit, in sequence.
(4) Four of A Kind—Four cards of equal rank.
(5) Full House—Three cards of equal rank and two cards of equal rank.
(6) Flush—Any five cards of the same suit.
(7) Straight—Five cards of mixed suits, in sequence.
(8) Three of a Kind—Three cards of equal rank.
(9) Two Pair—Two cards of equal rank and a different two cards of equal rank.
(10) One Pair—Two cards of equal rank.
(11) High Card—The card that has the highest rank.
For example, hand (5), a Full House, is better than hands (6) through (11). However, hands (1) through (4), are each better than hand (5). The best hand among the players is declared. The player who has the best hand is the winner. If two or more players have the same best hand, the best hand with the highest ranking of individual card(s) is determined. The player who has this hand is then declared the winner.
Poker can be played using a set number of designated community cards which players share to combine along with the cards dealt to the players to make their best five-card poker hand. One popular community card version of poker is “Texas Hold'em”. Typically, play begins with one player designated as the dealer, and the two players to the immediate left of the dealer placing forced wagers (the “blinds”). Each player is then dealt two “hole” cards. A first round of betting occurs, wherein each player decides whether to fold, call, or raise the bet of the prior player. Following the conclusion of the first betting round, three community cards are dealt face up, and these three cards are referred to as the “flop.”
A second round of betting takes place after the flop is dealt. Next, a single community card known as the “turn” is dealt face-up. Another round of betting follows the turn, and finally the fifth and final community card is dealt face up, known as the “river” card. When at least two players remain in the hand a final round of betting occurs after the river card is dealt. The “showdown” is next, where players show their hands. The player having the highest ranking five-card poker hand formed from the player's two hole cards and the five community cards wins the “pot,” which includes all bets placed during the hand, minus a percentage for the house or casino providing the game. This percentage is referred to as the “rake.”
Games like Texas Hold'em have several flaws. Players will seldom participate in a hand until two favorable hole cards are dealt to them. Only the blinds are required to bet in a hand while the other players can examine and discard their inferior hole cards without penalty. This results in a lack of participation by all players. Because of this, games like Texas Hold'em have become a wagering game wherein the exchanging and resolving of a financial obligation (a bet) between players is based solely on the probabilities during the distribution of the players' hole cards, limiting the mental skill component of the game to a choice of whether to play the hand or discard the cards, before one single community card is dealt.
Community card poker games such as Omaha Poker and Pineapple Poker try to induce greater player participation by dealing the players extra hole cards, but this makes poker, which is commonly referred to as an “imperfect game” more imperfect, due to the increase in the number of unknown cards. This type of modification, of course, also decreases players' “outs”.
Another flaw of Texas Hold'em is “unsubstantiated” bluffing due to the limited number of cards exposed during play, which slows down the game and produces boring play.
Community poker games such as Texas Hold'em are limited to a single community group to all players, which the players have no choice thereof, which does not offer a game which has a high frequency of value poker hands being dealt, and narrows the players to any flexibility thereof. Thus the players have no flexibility to construct a more competitive poker hand, leaving no option but to standby for favorable hole cards to be dealt to them.
Community poker games have become popular online, and as a result, recent problems have surfaced. Because games akin to Texas Hold'em lack community card group diversity, players have found ways to gain an edge using computer software systems. Because there is only one five-card community group shared by all players, it is relatively easy for players to apply software systems to assess their hole cards alone, or their hole cards coupled with the community cards dealt, to estimate their odds of defeating their opponents. Robotic play using “cheating” computer software systems has discouraged players from playing online.
In view of the above mentioned problems and limitations associated with playing community card poker-type games, it was recognized by the present inventor, who was once an Internet poker software entrepreneur at the turn of the Millennium, that there is an unfulfilled need for an improved method for playing a modified version of community card poker which induces greater player participation. The improved method should also utilize components of both mental and physical skill, and at the same time offer simplicity, practicality, a game that is fun to play, a game that can be easily learned, and a game that can be played on a level playing field online.
Accordingly, it becomes clear that there is a great need for a method for playing a modified community card poker-type game which overcomes the disadvantages associated with current community card poker games. From the embodiments of the application to follow, many advantages of the embodiment will become clear over other related community card poker games such as Texas Hold'em, or variations thereof.